Reblocking eyed for fire-hit Sitios Cepadul I, II in Barangay Duljo Fatima

A man searches for what he can salvage from the ruins of his home, which was destroyed by a fire on January 2, 2020, in Sitio Cepadul, Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City. | Gerard Francisco

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is planning to reblock the fire site in Sitios Cepadul I and II in Barangay Duljo Fatima following the fire that razed 50 houses on Thursday afternoon, January 2, 2020.

According to Simeon Romarate, the head of the city’s Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), the area needs reblocking because this is the second time that Sitio Cepadul has been hit by a fire.

Nearly a year ago or on January 5, 2019, an early evening fire razed 14 houses and displaced 20 families.

Read more: IN PHOTOS: Duljo Fatima fire site, the day after

Romarate said the area is a densely populated and if there will be no changes on how the houses are arranged, fire will remain a risk in the area.

The DWUP head also reiterated that the residents might go back after the clearing of the burned homes as this was the directive of Mayor Edgardo Labella, that the fire could not be a reason to drive away the residents from the privately-owned lot.

“Nagcoordinate pa mi sa private owner, ang Hospicio de San Jose, kay naa dungog-dungog nga gamiton daw ang lot. Gipapuyan man na sa una sa mga pobre pero basin gamiton na nila run. Still, pabalikon gyod nato ang mga residente,” said Romarate.

(We are coordinating with the private owner, the Hospicio de San Jose, because there are rumors that the owners would want to use the lot. The lot used to be an area for the poor to settle, but maybe the new administration would want to use the lot. Still, the residents can go back.)

Read more: 440 victims of January 2 Duljo fire appeal for help

Romarate said that if the private owners would want to take back the lot, they would have to file a case in court.

“A fire cannot be a reason for a private owner to deprive people of their home,” he said.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Cebu City said that the fire might have started in the house of a Lita Castro.

Fire Officer 3 Emerson Arceo, the main investigator of the case, told CDN Digital that new evidence would lead to Castro’s house as the origin of the fire.

“There are two possible reasons, electrical malfunction or cooking left unattended (as the cause of fire),” Arceo said.

Arceo said they are now investigating on the real cause of the fire./dbs